What happens at the Burrow, stays at the Burrow
by Luffeh
Summary: Ron and Hermione are alone at the Burrow during their summer vacation, without Harry. Love flourishes as they discover sides of each other that they've never seen before... A Romione love story.
1. The Arrival

**A/N: Hey everyone! This is a Romione FF, evolving around the sentence 'What happens at the Burrow, stays at the Burrow...' I've always wondered what happened when Harry wasn't around, and it was only Ron and Hermione... :P So I wrote this FF. I'm clearly just imagining, but anyway!  
><strong>**In the story it's the summer vacation between their 4th and 5th year. Right now it's Hermiones POV, but perhaps I'll write something from Rons POV later on...  
>Hope you guys like it!<strong>

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><p><strong>1: The Arrival<strong>

"Hermione! Oh, finally! I was beginning to get worried!" said Mrs Weasley with her characteristic voice.

"Oh, no," I told her and laughed. "My parents were just really interested in the Floo Powder. I had to explain everything to them."

"Ah, I see. Very nice parents of yours, dear. Here, let me take care of your things." she said as I put my trunk on the wooden floor. I had saved on the things, so it was quite light this year, compared to the others.

Mrs Weasley conjured my trunk and my other stuff up into one of the many rooms that had their own floor each. She insisted on hearing how my summer had been so far, so I agreed to join her in the kitchen, where she quickly made some lemonade with a blow with her wand.

"What is that supposed to be?" a voice suddenly asked, sounding confused and slightly annoyed. I looked at the doorway, and there he was. Red hair, blue eyes, curled lips. Ron.

"What is what supposed to be?" asked Mrs Weasley with a hissing tone as she made some sandwiches way too big to actually eat.

"The trunk and all the other junk." Ron simply answered with no further ado.

"Oh, dear, it's Hermiones!" said Mrs Weasley and placed the sandwiches on a huge plate, that seemed to have been broken quite a few times.

"And for your information," I told Ron. "It's not junk." I smiled at him – even though it had just been weeks since the last time I'd seen him, it felt like months. He surely had grown too – I wondered how tall he had gotten.

"It's probably books then." Ron mumbled, sounding rather grumpy as he sat down on a chair beside the table with a lazy attitude. He took one of the sandwiches that had been put on the table and instantly began eating it with an enthusiasm I'd never seen anyone have towards food before.

"Actually, it is." I said. Even though he seemed to be in a bad mood, I still smiled. I enjoyed being back at the Burrow – there was always a nice, comfortable atmosphere. It felt like home. I could smell tea and smoke. Perhaps Fred and George was making something else their mother could admonish them for.

"I saw the list for the books we need this year," said Ron, his mouth full of food. "Blimey, that's quite a lot. But you've probably had yours since first year."

"Ha-ha, very funny." I said and rolled my eyes. "Actually, I only had them since fourth." I then admitted and suddenly began feeling warm. I was probably blushing.

"Told you so." said Ron and smiled, and even though he still had his mouth full of food, he looked quite cute.

"Hey!" I said and grinned. "I only got interested in the story of Durmstrang and the Beauxbatons Academy because of the Triwizard Tournament..."

Ron suddenly got all silent and chewed his food very carefully.

"Uhm." I said, feeling a bit awkward. Maybe that wasn't the best topic, given that Hogwarts had lost a very dear student only weeks ago.

"Speaking of which, when does Harry arrive?" I asked quickly, trying to change the subject to ease the atmosphere.

"Not until Friday." Ron answered. I cheered on the inside. I had a whole week with Ron... I cleared my throat, trying to get control over my thoughts again. I had a whole week where I could study for my O.W.L.'s, I thought instead.

"But anyway," Ron continued. "What are Hermiones stuff doing in my room?" he asked. Mrs. Weasley must've made a mistake. I usually slept one floor higher than him.

"Don't you remember?" Mrs Weasley complained. She stood at the kitchen table, instructing the instruments she had conjured on how to clean it properly. "Charlie, Bill and Fleur will be here as well." I heard Ron sigh as Mrs. Weasley continued. "Fleur will be sleeping in Ginnys room, Charlie will be sleeping in Fred and Georges room, and Bill will be sleeping on the couch. You and Hermione will have to share your room."

I coughed and almost spitted out my lemonade. "_What_?" Ron and I almost shouted together.

"Oh, easy now, Ronald. There has to be room for everyone." Mrs Weasley told him.

"I know, but..." said Ron quickly, but then let the sentence die. He seemed to be thinking about what to say for a moment. Then he added: "What about Harry?"

"Oh, he doesn't arrive until Friday, remember? He can sleep on the other couch. He's always such a humble darling, that boy. Speaking of which, Arthur said he would get a little present for his uncle and aunt. I wonder what he's found this time..." said Mrs Weasley and put a hand to her forehead.

"But..." Ron continued.

"What is the matter with you?" Mrs Weasley hissed. "You be grateful that you'll get a bed, Ronald Weasley! Now, where did I put the bucket..." She began to search through the whole kitchen, probably so stressed that she didn't think about just using the Accio-spell.

I looked at her with a compassionate glance, and then eyed Ron. He sat all stiff on his chair, not eating anymore. He avoided looking at me, but instead pretended as if the sandwich was the most interesting thing he'd ever seen.

I silently sighed. This was going to be an interesting week...

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><p>"So, uhm, did you have a nice summer?" Ron asked, scratching his neck.<p>

"It was fine." I mumbled as I unpacked some of the most important things, such as my books. "I've just been around England with mum and dad." I said, trying to keep the conversation going. It was hard finding a proper topic, somehow. I wanted to keep talking – the silence felt way too noisy and awkward.

"Nice." Ron simply said and looked at the floor, tracing the pattern with his eyes.

"So, how's the family?" I asked and began to arrange my books in alphabetic order, just to do something.

"Okay I guess. Fred and George are experimenting with some new products. Still thinking about running that joke-shop. I wonder where they got all the materials from. Stuff like that isn't cheap." he said and looked at me for the first time since the episode in the kitchen earlier that day.

"You've got a point." I mumbled and sent him a weak smile.

"Ginnys, uhm... I guess she's fine as well." said Ron and sat down on his bed. "Don't talk much to her. She's busy sending owls to Michael Corner. She's pretty aggresive, I think they're breaking up or something."

"Ugh. Shame." I said and frowned. I took my time to look at him – he was looking at the walls now. His hair was messy, and his eyes looked tired. He had problably been doing a lot of work for Mrs. Weasley. He still looked charming, even though he didn't look that fresh nor energetic.

"How about your parents?" Ron asked in an awkward tone.

"They're fine as well. There isn't really anything interesting going on. But what about Fleur? Why is she coming?"

"Well, you know mum and Bill went to support Harry at the... Tournament." he said slowly. "Bill's got a bit of a thing for her, actually. He invited her over. Her parents are really excited about it. They've invited him to France next year."

"Really?" I asked, sounding a bit surprised.

"Yeah, they're really outgoing."

"Accommodating." I said. Then neither of us said anything for some minutes. I pretended to read a bit in one of my books, and he was busy studying the roof.

"So... Are there any plans for the week?" I asked and dared to look at him.

"Not really. Mum has been forcing me to all the hard work. She probably wouldn't want you to do it." Ron answered and looked at me shortly. His face became all red, and he went back to looking at the roof.

"Hm. Well, that was... nice of her." I mumbled. "I guess."

Ron laughed a bit and looked down at the floor. I smiled. It had been a while since I had heard him laugh, and I always enjoyed listening to his laugh. It made me feel happy.

"So, there's not any plans unless you wanna do something..." he said and finally looked at me for more than two seconds.

An awkward silence filled the room. Even though I understood what he said, there was still a ambiguous meaning to his words.

"I mean. Something you wanna see." he quickly added, probably thinking the same as me. Though, that didn't help very much. It was, if possible, even more ambiguous.

"I... I don't mean... Not like..." he began and went into deadlock. I couldn't help but burst into laughter. I was almost crying because I laughed so much, and he joined me, but he still sounded a bit tense.

"I know what you mean, Ron." I said and smiled indulgent at him. "And there's not anything I wanna do... or see... at least not what I can think of right now."

"Right." he said and let his hand slide through his hair.

If I had thought that it would be awkward before, it was nothing compared to now...


	2. Owl Post

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews! If anyone has any ideas to what could happen, I'm open for suggestions. Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>2: Owl Post<strong>

His eyes were fixed at me, intense and enthralled. His lips were coming closer as he whispered the three words I had longed to hear for so long.

"I love you..."

I looked at him, feeling how my heart was beating faster and faster. _Knock knock. _I opened my mouth and replied: "I love you too, Ron." _Knock knock._

I woke up instantly, warm and confused. What happened? Where was Ron? He had just been about to...

Someone opened the door slightly and stuck their head into the room to take a look. It was George.

"Hope I didn't wake you up," he whispered as he looked at me. I shook my head, feeling the blood stream to my cheeks. He then eyed Rons bed, and so did I. Ron was still fast asleep, he snorled softly.

"Looks like you're behaving..." George muttered and turned to look at me again with a teasing smile. Normally I would've laughed, but there was something about his comment that made my heart beat even faster than it already did, and I quickly eyed the floor.

"It's not funny, George." I said, only loud enough so that he could hear me. I didn't want to wake up Ron – this situation was way too embarrasing already.

"Woah, someone's having a bad morning." he whispered, as he opened the door a bit more and crept towards me, still smiling his teasing smile. He was taller and more lanky than Ron, and he had his hands full of letters.

"What's all of this?" I asked in a low voice as he went through the letters, searching for some in particular.

"Letters." he replied and handed me one of my own.

"Never would've guessed..." I mumbled and rolled my eyes. George smirked.

"Fleur and the others will arrive in a minute. Mum's chasing everyone out of bed."

I looked at George, and he sent me a knowing glance. Then he left the room again, this time a bit more noisy than he'd entered.

I put the letter on the nightstand and grabbed one of the many books that lay on the nightstand as well. I wasn't in the mood for any letters right now – I'd been disturbed during a very good dream...Or, well. A dream. I opened the book and began reading as I sighed. If only George had waited a few more minutes, then I would've...

"What's this?" a voice suddenly asked. I almost dropped my book in shock, looking at the person standing right in front of me, holding the letter I'd just recieved.

"For God's sake, Ron..." I whispered and closed my book. "You really scared me!"

"'Deer Hermy-own-ninny,'" Ron began reading aloud, not intending to actually answer me. "Blimey, who thinks 'dear' has two E's?" he objected in a mumbling tone. He smiled, clearly satisfied with his catch.

"Ron, give me that letter..." I said and tried to take it out of his hands. I knew right away who it was from – Viktor Krum.

"'I hobe you injoy your summer...'" Ron continued, raising his arms so that I couldn't grab the letter.

"Come on, Ron, it's mine!" I said, beginning to sound a bit irritated.

"'It is wery hott here in Bulgaria...' Hot with two T's? You have to be kidding me..."

"Ron, give it to me!" I yelled and looked at him with what I hoped was a demanding gaze. "Now!" I added when he didn't lower his arms.

"Bulgaria? Wow, Hermione, is this..." he said, grinning all over his face, but then his complacent smile slowly began to disappear.

"Ron, please just..."

He didn't say anything. He just looked at the letter, and after an incredibly long and awkward silence he looked at me in disbelief.

"Blimey, is this from... from _Viktor Krum_?" he asked, sounding as if Viktor was a disgusting insect.

"And so what if it's from Viktor Krum!" I hissed and managed to grab my letter. I lay it on the nightstand again as I looked at him with disappointed, yet angry eyes.

"I can't believe you're still holding onto that jerk..." he mumbled as he sat down onto his bed again, suddenly seeming all unhappy and irritated.

"What makes you think that you have the permission to call him a jerk? You know, it would be good for you if you actually made some international friends. I mean..." I looked at the letter and frowned. "Just because his English isn't that good, he's still wonderful company. You should've seen him during the... the Tournament. He was really incredible."

"I saw him during the Tournament!" Ron said and looked at me, his face showing exasperation.

"Well, then you must know that he did an amazing job... And you... You look up to him. You had a poster of him right there!" I said and turned around to look at the upper corner of the wall. There wasn't any posters. "You had a poster of him last year." I said and looked at him again.

"Yeah, well, things have changed." he said and eyed the floor. I sighed – he was doing his avoid-looking-at-Hermione-maneuver again.

I watched him carefully for a few minutes with my arms crossed, thinking like mad. Ron had always seemed to adore Viktor Krum, but when _I_ mentioned him, he always became very quiet...

"Oh God, Ron. Don't tell me you're jealous of him."

"Me? Jealous?" He snorted. "Please!"

"That's why you went all silent yesterday. It wasn't because of Cedric, it was because of Viktor!"

"Why would you think I cared about Cedric anyway?" he asked and sent me a harsh look.

"Ronald Weasley! You are not to be speaking of the dead in that tone! Cedric was our friend, he was-"

"I know what he was! Look, Cedric was a nice guy, and it's a loss to all of us that he passed away, but-"

"So it _is_ because of Viktor Krum, isn't it?" I said in a demanding tone. I wanted an answer, and I wanted it now.

"Jesus, Hermione! Why's it so important?" he asked, his voice raising.

"Because you obviously can't deal with the fact that I'm... And Viktor... And I don't see any reason why you should be jealous of him. You may not be like him, but you have other qualities-"

"Isn't it obvious why I'm jealous of him?" he shouted.

Silence.

I tried to fully understand his words.

"Don't say it's because of me..?" I whispered, looking at him in shock.

"It _is_ because of you. It's always been because of you. 'Cause believe it or not, Hermione..."

He looked at me, breathing fast. He was obviously really upset with me.

"...I actually care for you!"

His voice broke as he looked at me, looking more disappointed than angry now.

I was speechless. I'd always had a clue, but to actually hear him say it...

"W-why didn't you just tell me Ron? You know I care for you as well..."

"Yeah, well, I don't think it's in the same way." he said and got to his feet. He grabbed his bathrobe and walked toward the closed door. Just before he left the room, he turned around, looked at me and said: "And just so you know, I've always cared for you."

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><p>Breakfast that morning was strenuous and tense. I was sitting at the opposite part of the table from Ron. He didn't eat anything, and I only pushed a little to my waffles with my fork.<p>

"Everyone had a good night?" Mrs Weasley asked in a rather stressed tone as she cooked some more food.

"Alright," said Fred. "Good," was heard from Ginny.

"Very well. And what about you?" Mrs Weasley turned to face me.

"Excellent..." I said and managed to pull a convincing smile.

"Ron didn't bother you too much?"

"Uhm-"

Just in that moment the door burst open, and in came my saviours from a possibly awkward conversation; Arthur, Charlie, Bill and Fleur.

"Oh, finally!" said Mrs Weasley and went to kiss her husband on the cheeks. Charlie and Bill instantly joined the rest at the table, and Fleur greeted everyone at round.

"Ginny, you've grown so much!" she said with her French accent and gave Ginny a big hug. Ginnys face showed utter disgust and aversion.

"Monsiuer Fred, Monsiuer George..." The twins gladly greeted her with complacent smiles on their faces.

"Ah, Ron..." Fleur continued and gave Ron a light kiss on the cheek. Rons ears became red, and he suddenly got very busy with eating his waffles.

My grip on the fork tightened sligthly as I watched Rons red face, which was the result of enjoying Fleurs kiss. What a superficial, interruptive...

"...Beautiful Fleur!" I said and smiled the best I could as I got a hug from her.

"Oh Hermione, _tu_ es belle!" she said and smiled even bigger than me. I didn't have the patience to disagree with her, so I just sat down again and continued pushing to my waffles.

When Fleur had greeted everyone, she sat down at the table with the rest of us and began eating. Charlie was obviously very hungry from the long journey from Romania, and Bill was busy talking to Fleur. Ginny listened to the twins jokes, Molly was chatting with Arthur, and me and Ron were just sitting there, silent and immobile.

"Well, if everyone's done eating..." said Mrs Weasley after some time and began to clean up. Most of us parted, and while Ron avoided me, I wondered what on earth I should do with myself.


	3. Transparent

**A/N: Hi guys, sorry for my lack of updating. Been super busy with exams, but here's something I've been working on. This chapter is from Ron's POV :) Enjoy!**

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><p><strong>3: Transparent<strong>

The days passed, and soon Fleur began to feel at home at the Burrow. Mum had cleaned the most of the house before Fleur and the others had arrived – forcing me to help her – and therefore there wasn't that much to do. Me and Hermione – who I was trying my best to avoid – had been a bit in the garden, taking care of some garden gnomes and such. Nothing special, really. It was mostly my thoughts that kept me busy, especially in the late hours. I avoided talking directly to her as much as possible, which resulted in a lot of silence between us. She seemed quite nervous, she probably still didn't get that the only reason I didn't talk to her was that I didn't know what to say. 'Cause after all, what do you say to the girl of your dreams, when you know she doesn't like you back?

Even though this sort of silence wasn't something we were used to, Hermione was quite tolerant. She didn't complain at all, until a few days later, when we were about to go to sleep...

"Ron." she said and looked determined at me with her arms crossed. I continued making my bed ready for me to crash in it and remained silent.

"Ron, won't you please just... You haven't spoken a word since..."

"What do you want?" I murmured, not facing her.

There was a bit of silence, which was something we now experienced several times a day, but then she said: "Look. I don't know why you've been ignoring me, but-"

"I haven't been ignoring you!" I said, perhaps a little sharper than I'd meant.

"Well, if not talking to me at all for days doesn't mean you're ignoring me, then I don't know what it means." she answered, sounding rather grumpy.

"I've been avoiding you," I told her. "Not ignoring you. There's a difference, you know. Thought you knew that with that clever head of yours..."

"Oh, I'm sorry that I didn't catch that you were _avoiding_ me, which obviously is much more different than ignoring someone. Really, I'm truly sorry that I didn't figure that out, Ron." Her voice dripped with sarcasm as she tried to make me realise that I was being stupid or something.

"What's your problem anyway? I didn't know what to say, so I just shut up. Thought you'd prefer that after all of my rambling the other night."

"You didn't ramble, Ronald." she said in a offended tone.

"Stop calling me Ronald, Hermione!" I half-said, half-snarled.

"Oh, excuse me, but I thought that was your name!" she said, her voice growing higher.

I moaned of frustration and turned around to finally face her.

"What's your point, Hermione? Where are you going with this? If you can't speak your mind, don't bother!"

She looked at me, suddenly seeming more vulnerable than upset. Her eyes showed hurt as she lowered her arms.

"I'm sorry, Ron," she said, her voice now low and insecure. "I mean... I really am. I didn't mean to... That wasn't my intentions... You know I don't like seeing you angry, but I know it's my fault. I'm sorry. I guess I should just..." She licked her lips, searching for words. "...speak my mind."

My gaze was set on her, but I didn't say anything. I wouldn't stop her if she was finally going to tell me what she thought about it all... about me...

She took a deep breath and eyed the floor.

"Look, I apologize for the other morning... I was too hard on you, I admit that. But you really shouldn't have taken my letter, you invaded my privacy, and-"

"Hermione. To the point." I said, controlling myself as much as possible.

"Uhm – yes. Right. So... I didn't realise you, uhm, felt that way... You've never told me anything, or even mentioned that-"

"Why would I mention it?" I asked, looking at her defeatist. "I thought you had a clue. I've been trying to show you for years... Giving you signs and everything..."

"What signs?" she whispered and looked at me, frowning.

"You know... I was trying to ask you to the Yule Ball... But that Krum came first..." I mumbled in an annoyed tone.

"Well, you weren't exactly gentle. Pointing out that I'm a girl isn't the nicest way of asking me, Ron." she said and gave me one of her you-really-should've-known-looks.

"I panicked, okay?" I defended myself. "The market was thinning out, and-"

"_The market was thinning out?_" she interrupted me. "Really? So all the girls were just part of a market? I was just another product, an object-"

"God, Hermione. You interpret everything! I meant that the time was short, and that you were the only one I wanted to go with, but you had other admirers-"

"Perhaps you should try another method next time, then. Asking me instead of informing me about my gender would be a start." she admonished me.

"I get it, I get it! Can't really do anything about it now, can I? Just get it over with. My point is, I tried to show you that... well, you know. But that obviously didn't work..." I sighed and looked at her.

There was another pause of silence as she looked at me as if she was trying to understand all that I'd said, as if I'd been speaking a different language.

"So, you've had a crush on me... for all these years?" she asked, frowning.

"Yeah. Well, you were kinda annoying in the start, but I began ignoring that. But really, Hermione, being around you that much couldn't make me do anything but fall in love with you."

There. I had dropped the bomb. I had tried to be as honest as possible, and if she didn't get me this time, it wasn't because of me.

I watched her as she stood in front of me, her arms crossed again. She was still frowning as if she was trying to solve a puzzle which I was a part of. I waited for a response, a bit impatient actually, because I didn't like the silence that filled the room.

I lowered my gaze, about to apologize for telling her all this. Perhaps I should've just shut up, ignoring the fact that she was the one, letting go of the hopes I'd gotten through the last couple of years... But then...

Her lips crushed against mine, powerful and passionate. It took a few seconds before I realised what was actually happening – it just seemed so unreal and strange. I felt something – something I'd never felt before, and within a few seconds I responded her kisses, just as lively and eagerly as her.

Her kisses were filled with a lot of questions and things unsaid, yet she seemed determined to make this moment last as long as possible. I wasn't sure what would happen afterwards, and if we'd witness yet another awkward silence, but in that very moment I realised that I didn't even care.

Her body was pressed against mine as she had her hands on my cheeks, while mine were partly caressing her lower back, and partly braided into her hair.

It was as if the time stopped, as if the whole world stopped, and there was only her and me.

And then... we broke apart.

We looked at each other, stunned and completely silent, until a laughter spread, which only showed half of how happy and satisfied I was.

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><p>The next day was smooth and easy. It was as if there'd never been a fight between us, and I think the others noticed when they weren't busy listening to Fleur. She always had something to tell us about France, and in the start it was... well, what Hermione probably would call 'instructive', but I thought it was a whole bunch of nonsense.<p>

Fred and George sent me omniscient looks all the time – at dinner, in the garden, when we passed each other on the stairs... It began to feel quite uncomfortable, but yet there was a part of me that wanted to roar with satisfaction and joy. If only Hermione wasn't such a Mrs Know-It-All, then she'd be twice as wonderful as she was when she tried to teach me all sorts of things.

Hermione too, I think, was quite happy. Just the fact that she didn't hiss at me anymore meant that her general mood had improved drastically. Sometimes I even caught her humming faintly as she was reading one of her many books.

It was like everything had changed. Life seemed much easier – until Wednesday, when Hermione suddenly entered the living room with a letter in her hand...

"What's that?" I asked and made room for her on the couch, which I had thrown myself at.

"A letter." she said, looking grumpy and sad.

"Well, Mrs Obvious, who's it from?"

For a brief moment I considered the chances of the letter being from Viktor Krum. But what could he have written that would make Hermione sad?

"It's from Harry," she said as she looked at me with reluctant eyes. "He's arriving sooner than we thought."

I thought about it for a moment, feeling a bit guilty that I got annoyed when I heard that my best friend was coming over soon.

"Well, when's he arriving then?"

Hermione sighed and put the letter on the table.

"Tonight."


End file.
